Improvement in rotary engines



rim, a.

NITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

DAVID L. JAQUES, OF HUDSON, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. /l 3,642, dated July26, 1864. I

To all whom t may' concern:

Be it known that I, D. L. JAQUES, of Hudson, in Lenawee county, in theState of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful lmprovemenfs inRotary Steam-Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference thereon marked.

Figure l is a plan view of the inner side of one of the cylinder-heads.Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section through the governor,steam-chest, cylinder, &c. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of one end ofthe cylinder, one of the heads being removed. Fig. 4 is a cross verticalsection through the cylinder.

The engine is to be fixed vertically, as shown in the drawings, upon asuitable bed-plate.

In the several figures 'similar characters refer to like parts.

A indicates the cylinder, cast without heads, and provided with asemicircular crown, B, and is turned true, in the usual manner.

A are the two cylinder-heads, each of them being provided upon the facewith an annular The heads are bolted to the cylinder in the usualmanner.

I is a revolving disk secured to the main shaft Il, and is of a diameterequal to the inner diameter of cylinder A, in which it revolves. Thisdisk is provided with annular rims K and rubberpacking 1, which revolvewithin and against the rims a a. It will be noticed that there is a rim,a, and a rim, K, on each side of the disk I.

P P P P are the four double pistouheads, two on each side of the disk 1,to which they ae attached, and which they lmake revolve. Thesepiston-heads or steam-buckets are conv structed somewhat like thebuckets ot' a water-wheel, and, being double, may receive the pressureof the steam either from the right or left, according to the directionof revolution. They are arranged in pairs at opposite sides of the disk,and revolve in the annular space G, included between cylintlrr-Casing A,cylinder-heads A A', crown B, and rim a, as shown in Fig. 4. The bluelines 2 represent the packing of the piston-heads to prevent the esca-peof steam. It will be noticed thatthe inner curve ofthe piston-headscoincides with the outer curve of rim a, (around which it revolves,)while the outer curve is such as to make the piston-heads act asdoubleended cams for operating the cylinder valves.

S S are the two cylinder-valves. They are curved, being an arc ofsomethin g greater than a semicircle, and work in a semicircular groovein the crown B, and are provided with ports S. There is a pair of thesesemicircular valves arranged in the crown B, so as to be parallel with,and operated by, each pair of piston heads alternately.

T is a slide-valve (operated by a screw or otherwise) in the top ofthecrown B, and opens or closes the cylinder-ports t t when it isdesired to reverse the engine.

C is the steam-chest, which is secured upon the crown B, and is providedwith a cap, D.

F is a hollow shaft passing down through cap D and steam-chest C, and isprovided at its lower end with a throttle-valve, f, which admits or cuts4off the steam through ports t t.'

g is the spindle-valve of the governor, and plays up and down in thehollow shaft F, opening or closiu g the ports z' 17 in the said hollowshaft.

o is the steam-passage to the ports fi.

a is a small space around the spindle g and between the bottom of cap Dand top of the main barrel of hollow shaft F. By this means asteam-pressure is obtained on the vsteamchest and feed-valves, so as toprevent leaking 5 also to counteract the lifting force or resistanceofthe steam when acting upon the. piston-heads.

. w is the stop-cock foll shutting the steam oft' or on.

E is a cogwheel made fast to the hollow shaft, and conveys motion to thethrottle. The standards of the governor are secured upon the top side ofthe wheel E, andthe governor is appropriately connected to itsspindle-valve g.

3 and 4t are the exhaustpipes. 5 is the condensedsteam pipe.

In the operation of my invention, when I wish to revolve the shaft tothe right, I so arrange valve T as to close the right port t and openthe left port t, as in Fig. 2.- Steam is is then admitted through pipeo, spindle-- valveg is raised, and throttle-valve opened. The steam thenpasses through said left port t and through the left ports S ofthesemicirc'ular valves S into the annular chamber or cylinder G, andthere strikes the piston-heads P, as shown by arrows at e. The directand the expansive power of the steam thus let on forces that piston-headaround until its portsA p are opposite the exhaust 3, where the eX-haust steam escapes. At this instant the most advanced pointsfotl theother pair of piston heads are just in contact with the lower ends otthe valves S. (See red lines, Fig. 2.) The impetus ofthe ijywvheel nowforces these piston-heads P past the Valves S, driving those ends of itout from the chamber G and into its recess, and causing the other ends,y, of said valves to leave the recess and descend into chamber G, asshown in dotted lines at w, in Fig. 3. In this position the steam is cutoft. The same cam piston-heads continue to advance until they strike theends y of the semicircular valves S, forcing those ends into theirrecess and the other ends out, thus again opening the left ports S. Inthis manner the revolutions are continued. The engine is reversed bysimply changing the slide valve D so as to open the right port t,instead of the left one. v

It will be seen that the engine I have set forth is a double-engine,having a double cylinder-that is, the annular chamber G, divided intotwo chambers by the disk I-double pistonheads P, and double valves S.

I Wish it understood that I do not limit my claim to this duplication ofdevices, for my engine may be made single as Well as double by merelydispensing with one cylinder, one set of pistonheads, and one valve.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim, and desire. to secureby Letters Patent, 1s

1. The piston-heads P I?, constructed and operating substantially as setforth.

2. The semicireular valves S S, constructed and operating substantiallyas specified.

3. The combination and arrangement of the steam chest C,throttle-valvef, and governorvalve g, constructed and operatingsubstanti all y in the 1n a-nner and for the purposes Specitied.

DAVID L. JAQUES.

Witnesses: l

L. R. PEIRsoN, C. F. AVERY.

